The News Herald Hypnotherapist’s new book helps break food cravings By: Joe Slezak One of Rena Greenberg’s clients, a woman from Plymouth, was so tempted while driving, she wanted a salty bagel. So, she pulled into the turn lane to reach the drive-through of an eatery. The woman remembered what Greenberg had taught her about resisting temptation, and she didn’t pull in and order the bagel. Resisting the temptation is the premise behind Greenberg’s second book, The Craving Cure: Break the Hold Carbs and Sweets Have on Your Life,” which is scheduled to be released in June by McGraw-Hill. Greenberg, 46, runs Wellness Seminars, Inc, of Bradenton, Florida. Since 1990, she has used hypnosis to help more than 100,000 people eat healthier and stop smoking. Among her regular stops is Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center in Dearborn, where she’ll hold weight-loss and stop smoking programs on June 16. She started writing The Craving Cure not long after her first book, “The Right Weigh” Six Steps to Permanent Weight Loss,” was published by Hay House in January 2006. “I realized people really, really struggle with cravings,” she said by telephone. “I want to focus on it.” Greenberg uses hypnosis which is a state of deep physical relaxation, to focus her client’s concentration. AT that point, the subconscious mind is more open to suggestions. In The Craving Cure, she teaches readers a seven-step self-hypnosis method she calls “The Break Your Craving State Technique,” which can be used anytime – including when you’re about to pull into a fast food restaurant’s drive-through lane. Her book also teaches the “Two-Week Mega-Nutrition Cleanse,” in which readers wean themselves from bad foods and replace them with nutritional ones. The seven steps include changing breathing, physical movement, exercises and positive images to increase self esteem. The book teaches the steps of distancing yourself from the trigger; identifying your inner state; listening to your deep inner wisdom; identifying with your new state; shaking off your limiting beliefs; anchoring your higher intentions; and choosing a new action. “It helps change our state,” said Greenberg, adding that craving is a physical and emotional issue. “It goes beyond the level of conscious thought. “We just find ourselves in a new place. It’s easier to make a new and wiser choice.” Choosing bad foods, she said, boils down to a person’s habits. The goal of her technique is to change those habits. People often associate pleasure with the wrong foods, Greenberg said. If someone’s under stress, she said, it’s easy to eat too many of the “pleasure” foods. “We all just want to feel good, to be able to change our state with our feelings,” She said. It takes practice, she said, to change habits. And, the information is easy to use. “It becomes a positive habit,” Greenberg said. She was able to use the technique years ago. She used to love ice cream, but it made her feel tired. That was a problem for Greenberg, who had a pacemaker installed when she was in college because her heart was beating too slowly. Among the people she has helped is a 33 year old Ferndale woman, who carried 283 pounds on her 5-foot 10-inch frame. She has since lost 100 pounds, and her story was featured in the Feb. 27 issue of Woman’s World Magazine. For more information about Greenberg and Wellness Seminars, Inc. visit www.EasyWillpower.com. |